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Software Engineering course creates UW-Platteville smartphone app

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PLATTEVILLE, Wis.­­­ — University of Wisconsin-Platteville software engineering students worked to create a UW-Platteville smartphone app for their senior capstone project. The app is available for free download at the Apple and Google Play app stores.

“This app makes information about campus easily accessible and easy to use,” said Dr. Robert Hasker, UW-Platteville computer science and software engineering professor. “The goal is to have one spot for information that is useful to both prospective and current students.”

The app features a self-guided tour of the UW-Platteville campus with information about each of the buildings, a frequently-asked-questions page, UW-Platteville directory, access to UW-Platteville social media sites and the current news feed. One feature exclusive to the app is lab availability that shows students the number of available computers in each of the computer labs on campus.

The app was developed as part of the yearlong Software Engineering project course where students apply knowledge from previous courses to a team-based capstone project. The class is broken up into groups to work on different aspects of the same project.

“It simulated a real-world process in a more controlled environment that allowed the students to receive guidance, but also to flourish on their own,” said Rachel Sims, senior software engineering major from Inver Grove Heights, Minn. and team leader on the project.

“The students really enjoy building something that people are actually going to use,” said Hasker. “It’s incredibly motivating.”

“I have enjoyed seeing firsthand the progression of a concept turning into a design and becoming an actual application,” said Sims. “Seeing and interacting with the work of my team on actual devices has been extremely rewarding.”